Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho agreed. "They deserved to win because
they were better than us during a longer period of time," he said. "We
were the best team for 20-25 minutes, maybe a maximum of 30 minutes.
They were the best team for an hour."
Leicester return to summit as Chelsea woes continue
Sublime goals from Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez sent Leicester City back to the Premier League summit after a deserved 2-1 win on Monday over lacklustre Chelsea whose march to the title last season seems a distant memory.
The
prolific Vardy, whose record run of 11 consecutive Premier League goals
came to an end at Swansea City last weekend, beat goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois with a crisp volley from playmaker Mahrez's delightful cross after 34 minutes.
Algeria
international Mahrez curled in a stunning second from the edge of the
area three minutes into the second half to put Leicester, continuing a
remarkable turnaround after escaping relegation last season, on 35
points, two clear of Arsenal.
Substitute Loic Remy
gave the visitors hope with a close-range headed goal 13 minutes from
time to set up a tense finish but the hosts held out to leave Chelsea
mired in 16th place on 15 points from 16 games -- one point above the
relegation zone.
"We played against the champions but we want to make a fantastic match for our fans because they believe, they are dreaming," said Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri, savouring victory against his former side.
"It
is good if they (the fans) continue to dream but for us it was
important to make a great performance with a fantastic spirit. Also
tactically, I am very satisfied. We concentrated for 95 minutes against
the champions. That is not easy."
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho agreed. "They deserved to win because they were better than us during a longer period of time," he said. "We were the best team for 20-25 minutes, maybe a maximum of 30 minutes. They were the best team for an hour."
Victory
was extra sweet for Ranieri who was sacked by Chelsea in 2004, a year
after Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich took ownership of the London
club.
Ranieri had led Chelsea to their highest
league placing for 49 years and their first Champions League semi-final,
which they lost to AS Monaco, but his reward was the sack.
He was replaced by Jose Mourinho whose second spell in charge of Chelsea has come increasingly under the spotlight.
They
have lost nine of their opening 16 top-flight games for the first time
since 1978-79, a season in which they were relegated.
HAZARD INJURED
Chelsea's
woes were compounded by a first-half injury suffered by their Belgium
forward Eden Hazard who hobbled off with an apparent hip problem after a
challenge from Premier League top scorer Vardy.
England
striker Vardy (15 goals) and Mahrez (11) have scored 26 times between
them this season and they again lit up the King Power stadium with their
intelligent running, pace and trickery.
Leicester,
with one league defeat since losing at home to Chelsea in April -- a
run of 20 games -- had the swagger of side sky-high on confidence and a
dominant start was rewarded with Vardy's opener.
With
that sense of anticipation of a striker at the top of his game, he
escaped the attentions of John Terry to send a fizzing volley past
Courtois from the influential Mahrez's seventh assist of the season.
Chelsea
rarely threatened in the first half and when Mahrez beat Courtois with a
sumptuous strike, Mourinho's men had it all to do.
They
huffed and puffed without any spark until Remy headed in fellow
substitute Pedro's cross but they failed to create any meaningful
chances to salvage a point and take some of the pressure off their
beleaguered manager.
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